Vacuum cleaner



y 1953 c. E. MEYERHOEFER 2,639,001

VACUUM CLEANER Filed July 29, 1950 4 SheetsSheet 1 IN VHV TOR.

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graze/v5 rs M y 19, 1953 v c. E. MEYERHOEFER 2,639,001

VACUUM CLEANER Filed July 29, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

ytl'fidefer May 19, 1953 VACUUM CLEANER Filed July 2951950 c. E. MEYERHOEF'E'R 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. Karl If flzyzrioe er 6 TOR/VE S Patented May 19, 1953 VACUUM CLEANER Carl E. Meyerhoefer, Brooklyn, N. Y., asslgnor to Lewyt Corporation, Brooklyn, N. Y.,

ration of New York a corpo- Application July 29, 1950, Serial No. 176,714

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a structurally and functionally improved vacuum cleaner and in its more specific aspects aims to provide an alternative and improved assembly over that disclosed in United States Patent 2,516,707 of July 25, 1950.

It is an object of the invention to provide a mechanism in which under Operating conditions a maximum filter area will be exposed. Therefore, the apparatus will function over long periods of time with freedom from all difliculties incident to clogging.

A further object is that of furnishing a structure of this type in which a dirt and dust receiving unit is included such that the operator may bodily remove the unit when the latter is filled with accumulated waste material; such removal being achieved with minimum effort and time expenditures and being moreover capable of accomplishment without substantially any soiling of the hands or clothes. Thereupon a new unit may readily be operatively positioned within the assembly.

Another object is that of furnishing a vacuum cleaner which may have large capacity and in which the dirt, dust and other waste material entrained in the incoming air will be automatically deposited in a suitable receptacle portion before that air passes through the filter. Thus,

the surface of the latter will be subjected to only I a minimum extent to a clogging action.

Still another object is that of providing the apparatus of this type which will embody relatively few parts each individually simple and rugged in construction, such parts being capable of ready assemblage and when so assembled furnishing a unitary mechanism operating over long periods .of time with freedom from all difliculties.

With these and otherobjects in mind reference is; had to the attached sheets of drawings illustrating practical embodiments of the invention and in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a vacuum cleaner apparatus with certain of the parts shown in section;

Fig. 2 is a bottom sectional plan view taken along the lines 2-2 in the direction of the arrows as indicated in Fig. 1, and with the primary filter removed;

Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view of the supporting ring with the primary filter shown in operative indicated in Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of a preferred form of removable filter unit as may be utilized in connection with the structure shown in Fig. 4.

Referring primarily to Fig. 1 the numeral I0 indicates the upper housing portion of the assembly which may be provided with a carrying handle [I which also connects with a cover I2 to permit removal of the latter. This housing may be formed with an annular series of exhaust openings 13 and an actuating treadle It for a switch all as taught in the prior United States Patent afore-identified.

As also taught in that patent housing [0 may be provided with an outstanding flange portion 15 bearing upon a gasket [6 preferably of rubber and carried by the upper edge of the lower or tub portion ll of the assembly. A motor within a suitable casing It serves to drive a, blower or fan structure [9 by means of which air 'is drawn through an opening in a side wall of the tub and exhausted through the ports or vents 13. A supporting flange member 20 may extend downwardly from casing It and serve to mount a filter.

Also extending downwardly from the lower face of the casing assembly is a motor support in the form of brackets or straps 2| to which is secured a plate or ring 22. Layers of spacing and cushioning material 23 may intervene the brackets 2| and the casing portions for the motor and blower wheels and thus serve to support the latter from casing 10. Ring 22 defines a central aperture in line with the intake of the blower tion is provided for. Each of the projecting por-= tions is conveniently formed with an outstanding rib 21. A filter may be provided by employing a disc of woven cotton material. The edge of this disc is provided with a seam through which a constricting wire 28 may pass to thus maintain the adjacent edge portions of the filter body fixed and cause that body to assume somewhat the shape of a bag'asindicated at 29. The wire 28 is lczzzused to lie within the space deflned by flange Under these circumstances-and as shown in Fig.1, the body of thebagpasses around the 3 ends of the projections 26 and in contact with the outer face of disc 25.

With casin portion In secured to tub IT by means of suitable fasteners (not shown) it is apparent that an operator grasping handle I! may lift the entire assembly as a unit. With those catches released casing. ID will, of course, move upwardly with respect to tub i! as a lifting force is applied to handle ll. Under those circumstances that casing together with the motorblower assembly and the filter will shift as a unit. Filter 29 is to be regarded as a secondary filter. A primary filtering action will occur by means of a filter arranged in advance of the same.

Such an advance or primary filter is disclosed in my co-pending application for United States Letters Patent on filter structure, Serial No: 176,715, filed on July 29, 1950. As shown in Fig. 1 it will be in the form of an air pervious bag 36! of suitable paper and having an over-all length preferably not less than the diameter of tub ll. This bag may be provided with an inlet collar 31 formed of cardboard or other suitable material. The base of the tub is provided with any desired number of ribs 33*. The intakeopening of the tub defined" by an outwardly extending tubular member 32 which by means of protuberances may furnish a convenient coupling such that a hose or'other accessory'may'bereadily connected therewith or removed therefrom; In' line with the member 32 and extending inwardly of tub ll" is a fitting'34" in the formof a; downwardly discharging deflector or nozzle. The external surface of this nozzle is: slightly tapered and its maximum diameter may be substantially equal to theinternal diameterof" collar 3!. Also the length of fitting 34 inadvance cfits mouth portion should be in excessof the-height of collar 3|. Therefore that collar may readilyhe slipped over fitting 3 and when in position the mouth of the nozzle will be'whollywithi'n the body of bag 30'.

Considering the operation of the apparatus as shown in Figs. 1", 2 and 3' it will be" understood that casing Wis primarily removed from tub ll.

Thereafter a bag of air porous paper'such as'3ll is applied to the fitting 3 If desired; the bag may be left in collapsed condition. lhis will" be becausewhen casing'lilis once mounted and the are operated, the air rushing inthrough collars s2 and 31 will serve to distend the bag. So distended and-in view of itsover-all lengththe base of the bag will bear against the inner face of tub H- at a point substantially diametrically oppositethe intake opening of the tub. There'- fore a reaction-forcewill be set up suchthat incident to the expansion of the'bag collar 3t will constantly be urged; to have its edge portion ongaged by the inner face of tub ll adjacent the base of fitting 34.

At thelsame .timextheside. wall of. the-bag which extends adjacent to -disc 25 wouldbe forced into intimate contact with the surface of: filter 29 substantially throughout the zone of; the disc. Otherwise, the bag will generally occupy the:- position and embody" the. shape shown in: Fig. 1. In. such position-it-will bearagainst thestub-surfacesadjacent the. air channelsprovided'by ribs 33'. Accordingly with air flowing through those channels substantially entire bag surface :wilLbe subject to suction. Accordingly a maximumfiltering area willbe presented. With air. flowing through the; assemblythe.- secondary filter. provided by'cloth 29 will, generally'assume the. shape indicated in. dotted.lines,in Fig..l. DUE-t the provisioned the projectionsi 6101" generally. star'- shaped configuration of ring 22 the filter 29 may not collapse upon itself. Also its operative surface will not include layers overlapped with respect to each other. Rather at all times and even under maximum conditions of suction, the full eifective surface of the primary filter will be exposed to the passage of air. Also no parts of the same can be drawn intothe suction opening of the blower wheel assembly. With the surface of this filter so exposed any clogging tendencies on the part of dust particles entrained in the air stream will be in effect nullified so that even very infrequent cleaning of the surface of filter 29 will suiiice to keep the same substantially dust free.

As it will be understood the assembly is usable for a long period. of time before the body of the bag 35 becomes so filled and coated with particles of foreign matter that it is desirable to renew this unit. When such renewal is necessary casii may lifted from tub- H. Thereupon an operatorm'ay simply grasp-collar 3| and'move the same to clear fitting 34'. At this point the dust filled bag may be bodily lifted from the tub and be replaced by a fresh bag. Secondary filter 2!;- serves under all circumstances" to prevent the parts of the blower wheel from being engaged or clogged by filter cloth orpaper. Also' it serves as an emergency filter unit in the event that an operator attempts to use the apparatus without a bag 36 in position. As afore brought out the projections of ring 22 assure that the complete areaof the primary filter is atalltimes expo'sed to-the passage of air freefrom any folds or multipl'e layers.- Moreover this ring prevents the-use of an improper filtering element in-substitution for abag suchas or its-equivalent.

In the form of structure shown in Figs; 4' and ii the same general arrangement of' partssupportedby the upper casing is present" as inthe structure of Fig. 1*. For this reasonthe same reference numerals as heretofore employed have been used todesignate these several-partsi However, in thisformof device, the'brackets35which mount the motor and blower assembly preferab'l'yby means of supporting layers 36am formed with an opening adjacent the lower portion at which they overlap. Through this opening a rod M slidably extends, A spring 38" urges the rod 3': downwardly. This rodcarries a disc 39 adjacent its outer end; suchdisc" corresponding to the' disc 25 as previously describedl- A latch member 4 may co-act with a" groove in rod-31 toretain the latter in retracted position: This latch is conveniently actuatedby a Bowden cable connected to the actuator M- of" the switch. Structure similar to this is disclosed" and d'escribed in my prior application iGrUnited' States Letters-Patent for vacuum cleaner identifiedunder Serial 83,14? and filed on March" 24-; 1949. Also taught in that application aspring: 42 may normally maintain the latch operatively disposed with respect to rod" 31 and a guiding bracket 43 may be provided to assure that the redshifts in a straight line.

A filter Ml corresponding to" filter 29 is like wise mountedin this form of theap'paratus' by flange member 25$. IteXtends in contact" with the outer face of disc ttandaisoover the projecting portions of plate it correspon'ding'to' plate 22 as afore-described. Filter 4'4 is'enclcsed in a'filter l'l'as shown especially in Fig. 6. The latter is. conveniently formed of nylon and is provided with'fa bia'sb'ead 42; Enclosedwithintlie latter is a constricting element which may take-"the fore this filter may be retained in a position at which it envelops filter 44 but may at the same time be readily removed for purposes of cleaning and renewal.

The tub portion of the assembly includes a relatively deep body 50 to which a base 51 is suitably secured. Enclosing this base is a frame 32 having three or more outwardly projecting platform portions 53. the latter are casters 54. The height of the tub portion 59 is such that the inlet nozzle or fitting 55 extends well below the filter assembly. In common with the fitting 30 this nozzle discharges downwardly towards the base of the apparatus.

The operation of this assembly will be similar to that heretofore described in connection with the apparatus as illustrated in Fig. 1. Filter l! may be renewed and replaced as necessary. Ring 46 and its projections 45 will serve to maintain both filters in position at which their entire effective areas are exposed to the passage of air. When these filters become clogged to a sufiicient extent the resistance to the passage of air will cause a retraction of rod 3"! against the action of spring 38. Under these circumstances latch member 40 will extend into the groove of rod 31 to maintain the latter and the plate in retracted position. This disposition of the parts will be maintained through to and including that phase of the operation in whichv actuator M is operated to cause a deenergization of the motor. In this connection it will be appreciated that a substantial interval of time will elapse between the opening of the switch and the time when the momentum of the motor and fan diminishes to a point where the suction is no longer effective to maintain the filter and other parts in retracted position. Therefore, with the momentary actu ation of the pedal Id a retraction of the latch will not result in the rod 31 shifting. However, when the parts have once reached a position of rest and actuator M is again operated then no air current will be passing through the filter. Accordingly, the instant the switch is closed latch 43 will be retracted by cable ll and rod 3'! together with the parts associated therewith will violently project in an outward direction thus tensioning and snapping the layers 44 and 41 into a taut condition. Accordingly, the particles of dust and dirt adhering to the outer surfaces of these layers will be projected from their faces and the filter units will thus be cleaned.

Incoming air will be diverted as indicated in lines in Fig. 4 downwardly. Therefore with the increase in cross-section area of the tub and the consequent slowing down of the air fiow, heavy particles will be deposited upon the surface of Secured to the underiace of.

base 51. As shown in Fig. 5 the air flow willafter being diverted by contact with the surface of the basebe generally fan-shaped and also follow the inner surfaces of the tub in separate and opposed paths through substantially 180". These opposed streams will meet and thus be further slowed down. Ihis will result in an additional depositing of entrained particles of foreign material. Therefore dust, threads and other foreign particles will largely be deposited upon the base of the apparatus and will not have to be separated from the air fiow incident to the air passing through the filter assembly t l-41. The air flow occurring in the structure shown in Fig. 1 will be quite similar and modified only due to the configuration of the inner faces of filter 30.

Because of the relatively great height of the tub 59 it is feasible to use the apparatus in the presence of moisture. This would occur where, for example, a rug has been shampooed with suds which are imbedded in its body or its surface. As such suds are drawn through the fitting 55 a maximum suppressing action on the body of the suds will occur. Accordingly they will not tend to readily build up to the level of the filter.

Thus among others the several objects of the invention as specifically afore-noted are achieved. Obviously numerous changes in construction and rearrangements of the parts might be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the claim.

I claim:

A vacuum cleaner including in combination a housing, a casing for a motor-driven fan carried by and extending beyond said housing, straps connected with said housing and extending below said casing, a flexible filter connected to said housing and loosely enclosing the extended casing portion and straps, a ring-shaped plate extending laterally from and connected to said casing, a series of radially extending arms projecting outwardly from the outer edge of said plate, said straps extending through and below said ring, said plate being disposed within said filter and the projecting arm portions thereof bearing against the inner face of the latter to maintain it in distended condition.

' CARL E. MEYERHOEFER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,880,665 Barker Oct, 4, 1932 2,149,135 Ericksson-Jons Feb. 28, 1939 2,327,181 Dunbar Aug. 17, 1943 2,443,162 Hallock June 8, 1948 2,514,280 Hammell July 4, 1950 2,516,707 Lewyt et a1. July 25, 1950 2,534,578 Crabb Dec. 19, 1950 2,539,195 Lang Jan. 23, 1951 

